House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) demanded on Sunday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) take action against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) over remarks that Waters made over the weekend, otherwise he will be forced to take action.
“Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past,” McCarthy said in a statement. “If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week.”
Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past. If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) April 19, 2021
McCarthy’s remarks come after Waters attended a protest on Saturday night in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, where police shot and killed a man last week after he tried to flee while being arrested. Waters’ remarks also come just days before a verdict will be reached in the Derek Chauvin case involving the death of George Floyd.
“We’re looking for a guilty verdict. We’re looking for a guilty verdict. And we’re looking to see if all of this [inaudible] that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd,” Waters said. “If nothing does not happen, then we know, that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice, but I am very hopefully and I hope that we’re going to get a verdict that will say guilty, guilty, guilty. And if we don’t, we cannot go away.”
When asked about what activists should do if Chauvin is not convicted, Waters said that they must “stay on the street.”
“And we’ve got to get more active. [We’ve] got to get more confrontational,” she said. “[We’ve] got to make sure that they know we mean business.”
The New York Post Editorial Board said that Waters was “trying to create a Civil War” and urged that Pelosi (D-CA) “should strip her of her committee assignments and move for a vote to remove Waters from office.”
Notable elected officials and political commentators also slammed Waters over her remarks:
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): “Democrats actively encouraging riots & violence. They want to tear us apart.” “‘We gotta stay on the street,’ Waters was recorded saying, adding that protesters needed ‘to get more confrontational’ & they should ignore the curfew in place.”
- Matt Walsh, podcast host: “Maxine Waters is trying to intimidate a jury to influence the outcome of a murder trial. Every elected Republican in the country should be calling for her immediate arrest and removal from congress.”
- Steven Crowder, podcast host: “If Trump was removed from Twitter AND Facebook for ‘inciting violence’ then Maxine Waters needs to be federally charged and impeached.”
- Bryan Dean Wright, Democrat and former CIA officer: “Maxine Waters is a threat to the Republic.”
- Gerry Callahan, podcast host: “Donald Trump was impeached and banned from all social media platforms for less.”
- Kurt Schlichter, attorney and columnist: “This is an insurrection.”
- Tim Pool, podcast host: “Maxine Waters says that Chauvin premeditated the murder of George Floyd and that if Chauvin is not convicted [of] a crime he wasn’t charged with they should get ‘more confrontational[.]’ More confrontational than burning down buildings?”